Path of the Animal
by Mitch Uzumaki
Summary: In Pein's original attempt to create the Six Paths, he made a mistake and made six Paths that were fully sentient and alive-though they were scattered and... babies. As the Akatsuki emerge from the shadows, will the "faulty Paths" join with their creator, or stand for themselves? First story, constructive criticism only please. Rated T for now, may be changed later NaruSaku TemaOC
1. Prologue: A Failed Path

The dark, cloud-filled sky lit up in a flash with a loud roar of thunder, burning brighter than the sun for a total of five seconds as a pillar of silver light flew into the heavens before fading out like a dying star.

"Nagato-kun, something went wrong with the ritual," said a cool female voice from inside a remote cave, high in the mountains where the pillar blossomed from.

"Damn! This scroll told me nothing…" responded a voice, belonging to a male.

Rain battered the outside world like a barrage of bullets; inside the small, dimly lit cave was a group of people… well, that is to say, two people and six corpses. As the icy cold droplets impacted the mountain range, the two inside the cave warmed themselves by a fire. The cave itself was fairly wide, wide enough for the six bodies to lie side-by-side, but the stone ceiling was very low; both living occupants needed to stoop to avoid from hitting their heads.

"The scroll said six bodies were required, ne?" asked the female's voice; the voice came from a woman about twenty years old. She was fairly tall with blue hair and grey eyes, as well as pale skin; she wore a dark cloak that was ripped in various places, and in her hair she had a light pink origami rose.

"Hai," whispered the other person; he was a man, roughly a year older than the woman. He had long red hair and very pale skin, and was also very tall; he was skinny, to the point that he looked almost like a corpse, and had light purple eyes with three rings bordering the pupil; his right eye was covered by his long hair. "But it didn't go into very much detail about the seals needed… perhaps Jiraiya-sama would've known more…"

The six bodies were of various sizes, though they bore one similarity (aside from one pair, who bore another): they were all shinobi from a Hidden Village (except for the sixth, though he was a companion of a shinobi).

The largest one was a man who looked to be in his early to middle forties; he had dull blonde hair and dark skin, and he wore a hitai-ate from Kumogakure in the form of a bandana; covering his body was a standard flak jacket from Kumo, which was merely a white vest with a single strap that crossed the chest, and a pair of blue sweatpants. He was very tall and muscular, though his corpse had begun to show the typical signs of death. This was the man known as the Sandaime Raikage, leader of Kumo, called _saikyo no tate_, the strongest shield, by many. He was called this because of his great endurance ability, having held out against ten thousand shinobi for three days, killing all except for two: Nagato and his companion, the former having created a spear of earth and driving it through the chest of the greatly weakened Lightning Shadow. After his death, Nagato sealed the body away in a scroll and carried it with him.

Next to him lay the body of a nameless shinobi from Yugakure, the Village Hidden in the Hot Water. He was about twenty-four or so, with tan skin and snow white hair. He wore a flak jacket much like that of the Raikage's, though instead of one strap it was held up by dual straps, and of course there was a big slash across the chest, revealing a bloody and battered front, for he had died only recently. He was a remnant from an extinct clan (the clan had completely died with him) who had the power to control water in all forms; he could freeze and boil it at will, turn it into steam, or anything of the sort. He and another ninja from Yugakure had been among the group attacking the Raikage, though on the dawn of the third day (when only a few hundred attackers remained), he was killed by a lightning sword that the Raikage created through a Raiton ninjutsu. After the end of the battle, his body was also collected by Nagato.

Next to the nameless Yu-nin were two shinobi, roughly seventeen or eighteen. One was a male, the other a female. They both had hitai-ate from Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist. The male was about as tall as Nagato, with only a little bit of muscle definition and tanner skin; he wore a tattered slate grey flak jacket, with extended shoulder guards with multiple scrolls on the back, as well as a pair of greenish grey pants; he wore his hair much like Nagato—long and red, though his eyes were an icy blue. His name was Uzumaki Kirito, one of the last survivors of Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools, and he was the lead fuinjutsu (art of sealing) master of Kiri, as well as a distant clansman of Nagato.

The female had short, dark brown hair and green, almost teal eyes; her skin was rather pale and she wore a similar outfit, though without the scrolls. Her name was Uzukaze Asuna, a member of the Uzukaze clan of Uzu, where Kirito's family was from. She and her lover Kirito were slain "mistakenly" by a stray Doton ninjutsu belonging to Nagato himself. The two were jounin and very powerful in their own right, but they were unable to defend against Nagato (who they believed their ally, especially seeing as Kirito and Nagato were distantly related; they were powerful, yet rather foolish). After the Raikage was killed, they were sealed by their murderer.

Beside the lovers was a nuke-nin from Iwagakure, the Village Hidden in the Stones by the name of Kamizuru Aianbi. He was roughly twenty-five and rather short, and his head was completely bald; while he was alive, it was covered in his ever-faithful bugs, which would swarm around it, hardening when needed and separating to attack. He ran around completely shirtless, his bare chest and stomach being covered by an armour of beetles, which were quite the defense when needed. His pants were simple and grey, barely long enough to reach his ankles, with blue sandals; he was killed right when the fighting started, being the first casualty—the Raikage let loose a blast of lightning that ran through his beetle armour like a javelin, killing him instantly. During the cleanup of the battlefield, Nagato collected his body and sealed it away.

Finally beside the insect shinobi was an unnamed mercenary who was a travelling companion of Aianbi; he was not from a ninja village, and was only known as "Samurai" and hailed from Tetsu no Kuni. His traditional samurai armour had been stripped and pilfered after his death against the Sandaime, and now he wore only a rough white cotton shirt and grey pants, with a cut on his throat opening like a grim red smile. His shirt was brought up above his stomach, revealing a seal on his stomach, placed there by Aianbi, to prevent the theft of his swords in the event of his death. The Raikage delivered the deathblow upon him with a swift strike of a chakra-enhanced kunai, killing him instantly; he fell right after his Iwa ally.

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" yelled Nagato, glaring furiously into the flames. His thoughts were clouded by anger, then in his mind he whispered quietly, '_Yahiko… I shall avenge you, otouto_.' as his mind turned to thoughts of his orange-haired best friend.

He stood up suddenly; "Where are you going?" asked the woman.

"I need to clear my mind, Konan-chan," replied the Uzumaki, "perhaps that was what caused the technique to fail."

The woman now known as Konan nodded; "I suppose that's wise. Try to stay hidden if you can," she said, "there's no doubt that there are some shinobi hunting for us."

"I can take them," said Nagato as he walked toward the entrance of the cave.

"Be careful…" said Konan. Nagato reached the mouth of the cave, turned his face toward her and gave her a small smile, which almost looked somewhat ghastly on his hollow-looking face; he had used quite a bit of chakra over the past few days and it was starting to take a toll on him. He raised his hand and stepped outside, and he left. "…Nagato-kun…"

A scroll lay spread open by the dying embers of the fire. Konan took it in her pale hands and examined it closely, reading aloud, " 'Note: Do NOT use more than one body for this! I cannot stress this enough! DON'T DO IT MAN!' …Well, that doesn't sound good."

* * *

**Well, there goes the prologue of the story. Keep on reading the first chapter before you give up on it, please! Leave a review if you want, I suppose, though it'd be preferred after you read the next chapter, follow and favourite and all, and no flames please! **

**~Mitch**


	2. Ch 1: The Red-haired Stranger!

_(On a road toward Nami no Kuni, three weeks prior)_

"Kakashi-sensei!" came the cry of a girl.

A silver-haired man in a green flak jacket cried out in agony as a pair of claws attached to chains wrapped around his body like boa constrictors before tightening and tearing him into two pieces. He fell apart in bloody thirds; the female who screamed had to look away in horror.

She wore a red thigh-length dress with a white circle on her chest; her hair was long and pink with a Konoha hitai-ate tied up in it like a bow, her skin fair. Her face was heart-shaped and her eyes were green, and she had bandages on her legs. Her name was Haruno Sakura of Konoha, a genin belonging to Team Kakashi. A frightened look crossed her face as she looked to her two teammates.

"Sasuke! Sakura-chan!" cried out her blonde teammate, Naruto. "Protect the old man! Get into position!"

"Hai!" called Sasuke, a dark-haired youth with pale skin, as he threw himself to the left of a drunken-looking old man with deeply tanned skin and greying hair and a beard. The old man wore a simple sleeveless v-neck and pants, as well as a pointed straw hat and sandals; his name was Tazuna. Sasuke wore a blue collared shirt with the symbol of his clan, the Uchiha, a paper fan, on the back of it as well as a pair of dark pants and sandals, and bandages on his arms.

The pink-haired kunoichi followed suit and rushed to his right, drawing a kunai. Naruto, a spiky blonde-haired boy with tan skin and blue eyes, wore an orange jumpsuit with blue around the shoulders and waist, and a red swirl on his back and shoulders, set through a series of hand seals. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" he shouted as four copies of him appeared, two on either side, glaring at the green forest around them with an intense ferocity.

"There!" cried one of the clones, pointing at a puddle before a claw shot out of it and pierced him, causing him to dissipate in a puff of smoke, and out of the water jumped a man in a camouflage suit with a breathing mask and a Kirigakure hitai-ate with what looked like devil horns on the sides. On his arm he bore a chain gauntlet with the same claw that killed the clone.

"Damn it, Meizu!" snarled a voice as another person in a similar outfit (though his hitai-ate bore a single horn in the middle instead of the dual-horns on the side) jumped out of a puddle a few feet from behind Tazuna. "I almost had him!"

"Heh, sorry Gozu," replied the devil-horned shinobi, "but I just wanted to kill these brats already. They're almost cute, thinking they're people."

"Play-time is over, Meizu," said the single-horned man, now known as Gozu. "Let's finish this quickly. There won't be any need to disturb Zabuza-sama." He reared back one of his claws.

"Not so fast!" yelled Sasuke, running through a set of hand seals, "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu**!" he bellowed as he put his hand to his lips and a great orange ball of fire burst forth at Gozu, who simply sunk back down into a puddle.

"Troublesome," muttered the single-horned Kiri-nin, "but I guess this'll have to do!" he leapt out of the puddle and lashed out at Sasuke, who barely dodged out of the way and then countered with a kunai strike. Gozu parried the strike then delivered a punch to the side of Sasuke's jaw, knocking him aside.

"Sasuke-kun!" cried Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, watch out!" Naruto growled; Meizu had been attempting to sneak up on her through a puddle and jumped at her before being taken out of the air by a... red-haired horse with a golden head? Then a green ox rammed into Gozu, sending him through a tree.

"How fitting," chuckled a voice from the trees. "Meizu, the horsehead, knocked down by a horse, and Gozu the oxhead getting taken down by an ox." In a quick flash, four more shinobi appeared. The fastest and first to appear was a male of about seventeen; he had fair skin and long red hair, hanging past his shoulder. He had violet eyes, the left being covered by his hair; he was roughly 190.5 cm (6' 3") and rather slim, with a fair bit of muscle definition, though not enough to be considered a huge threat hand-to-hand wise; he wore a silver t-shirt with a red and black swirl on it, and a pair of black shorts and sandals; two straps rested on his shoulders, connecting to several scrolls of various sizes, as well as several small ones strapped to his waist, along with a Kiri hitai-ate around the strap on his right shoulder.

The second to appear was a lean-built boy of about fifteen, rather short, standing no taller than 164 cm (5' 3", roughly) with shaggy white hair and purple eyes; he was grinning slightly, showing sharpened teeth. He wore a sleeveless purple shirt and blue pants and sandals, as well as a belt with several water bottles strapped to it and a Kiri hitai-ate. Next came a man of roughly thirty with pale skin; he stood rather tall, even taller than the red-haired boy; he had long black hair and a beard, with sharp-looking red eyes, a scar crossing his left one. He wore a slate grey flak jacket with extended shoulder guards as well as grey pants and a black undershirt, as well as a Kiri hitai-ate. He smirked slightly.

Finally, there was an average-sized boy of sixteen with spiky black hair and black eyes; his skin was fair and he wore an icy blue v-neck shirt with the words, "tetsu no kori" written on it in kanji. He adjusted his own Kiri hitai-ate and smiled pleasantly. "Good thing we got here when we did," said the black-eyed newcomer, "otherwise you three might be in some trouble. Gozu and Meizu are some pretty strong nukenin."

The one with red eyes and the flak jacket chuckled a little, stepping aside. "Come now, Kiri. They weren't in that much danger. I do believe this man right behind me is their sensei."

"Kakashi-sensei!" cried Sakura as the grey-haired man in the flak jacket that she had seen die stepped out from behind the Kiri nin. He wore a green flak jacket and black pants with a black undershirt; on the shoulders of his shirt were swirls much like the one on the red-haired shinobi's chest; he had a Konoha hitai-ate pulled down over his left eye.

"Yo," he said, raising his left hand. With his other hand he pulled an orange book out of a pouch at his side.

"B-but... we saw you die!" spluttered Naruto.

"Maa, maa, Naruto... don't you remember what I told you in the bell test?" asked Hatake Kakashi. "'A shinobi must always look underneath the underneath.'"

"So that was all..." Sasuke began, looking over at where the bloody pieces of corpse had been...

...only to see logs. "A **kawarimi**?" said Sakura.

"Yes, Sakura, very good." said the masked Konoha nin. He turned to the four Kiri nin and hugged the one in the flak jacket. "It's good to see you again, Tsurugi."

"Far too long, Kakashi my old friend," said the scarred man, grinning.

"...Wait a minute," Naruto said, "where the hell are Gozu and Meizu?!"

A calm voice spoke from behind him, "Right here."

Naruto was taken aback by this; he had let his guard down and not paid attention. He turned around slowly and cautiously; the red-haired Kiri nin stood there, smiling a little. He waved two scrolls in his hands; "I sealed them in here. Easier to transport."

"A-are they..."

"Dead? No. Perfectly alive. Just sealed."

"Forgive me," said the man named Tsurugi. "I believe introductions are in order. Team Tsurugi, attention!" he barked out as the other three shinobi quickly moved behind him.

"Hai. Team Kakashi! Present yourselves." commanded Kakashi. The three Konoha nin flashed behind him. "I suppose we'll go first, considering we're nearly guests in your land. Hatake Kakashi, jounin."

"Uchiha Sasuke, genin." said the boy in with the paper fan on his shirt.

"Haruno Sakura, genin." said the pink-haired girl cheerily.

"Uzumaki Naruto, genin for now-soon to be Hokage!" interjected the blonde excitedly.

'_Uzumaki... could he be... Kushi-nee?_' thought the red-haired boy.

"Very good," Tsurugi commented. "Sound off! Aisushado Tsurugi, jounin instructor of Team Tsurugi!"

"Hozuki Suigetsu, genin." said the white-haired boy cooly.

"Kujira Kiri, genin." said the black-eyed boy with a small smile.

The red-haired boy hesitated for a moment, finally speaking up when Hozuki Suigetsu nudged him in the ribs. "Kirito. Genin."

"How did you do all that stuff, Kirito?" asked Naruto excitedly, practically jumping up and down.

"Hn, I'm rather interested myself," admitted Sasuke.

"What stuff?" Kirito replied, looking away.

"That animal stuff."

"...It's a Kekkai Genkai."

The spiky-haired blonde genin looked at the older redhead strangely. "What clan is that from?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?!"

Kirito looked at him coldly. "Learn your place, Naruto-kohai."

"But..."

"Sorry for the interruption, but we really need to be going," said Tsurugi quickly, grabbing Kirito's arm and turning him around. "See you around, Team Kakashi."

Suigetsu gave a noncaring "hmph" and Kiri gave a small, gracious wave. Kirito gave no sign of caring, shoving the scrolls into holsters on his belt and dashing off into the trees. The white-haired boy followed quickly after, and the now awkwardly smiling Kiri was close on their heels-obviously he felt that the circumstances had become rather awkward as well.

"Heh... sorry about that, Kakashi," said Tsurugi, turning and preparing to leave. "Kirito doesn't particularly like people, and Suigetsu and Kiri usually follow as he does..." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Kakashi simply eye-smiled at him. "Hopefully we'll see each other again."

With that, Tsurugi leapt off after his team.

* * *

_(3 weeks after these events, Konohagakure)_

The sun rose brightly over Konohagakure as a decent breeze blew throughout the village. The buildings had a bright orange shadow cast upon them; the Hokage tower itself seemed to be on fire in the morning light. People were doing various things like bringing in their laundry and making breakfast... and waking up. The eternal chuunin, Kogane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, were sitting in the guardhouse of the Konoha gates, sipping on hot chocolate.

"Maaaaan I'm tired..." complained Kotetsu, a man of twenty-four with spiky black hair and a bandage on his nose. He wore a Konoha hitai-ate and flak jacket, and underneath a black shirt and black pants, and on his back he bore a pair of giant kunai. He coughed a little. "And I don't feel so good."

"Well, Kotetsu-chan, if you hadn't stayed out all night with Hayate, maybe you wouldn't be so tired," Izumo replied, smirking against his cup. His hair was long and a dark brown, covering his right eye; he wore his Konoha hitai-ate in the fashion of a bandana, and he also wore a flak jacket, black pants and a matching black shirt. He then added wryly, "Or sick."

"Hey, it's not my fault Hayate knows how to party," retorted Kotetsu, spitting into his cup. "Have you ever been to a party with Hayate?"

"...Yes, I was with you guys last night," said Kotetsu to his best friend and roommate, "but I went back to the apartment before I got too drunk. And as such, I don't have a hangover."

"Screw you."

"No thanks, I'm still waiting on Yuugao-chan to clarify her relationship status."

"I freaking hate you right now."

"Oh! Look alive, we've got newcomers." said Kotetsu, patting his best friend-the one he considered his little brother-on the head, grinning happily at him.

Four people walked down the path to the gates, each carrying a decent-sized backpack, except for one who merely had several scrolls strapped to his back. As they drew nearer, the eternal chuunin could finally see them clearly.

One was a very tall man who wore a slate-grey flak jacket with extended shoulder guards, and a black shirt with grey pants; he had crimson red eyes with a scar running through his left one, as well as long black hair and a beard. Another was a short boy (at least a foot shorter than the man in the flak jacket) with shaggy white hair and purple eyes; he wore a purple shirt and blue pants with sandals, as well as a belt that carried several water bottles.

Then there was a very tall boy, a mere inch or so shorter than the adult; he couldn't be more than seventeen or eighteen; he had long red hair that fell into his violet eyes, covering his left one. he wore a silver t-shirt with a red and black swirl on it, and a pair of black shorts and sandals; two straps rested on his shoulders, connecting to several scrolls of various sizes, as well as several small ones strapped to his waist-he was the one who didn't carry any luggage. Finally, there was an average-sized boy of sixteen with spiky black hair and black eyes; his skin was fair and he wore an icy blue v-neck shirt with the words, "tetsu no kori" written on it in kanji. He smiled pleasantly as they drew closer to the gates.

When the group finally came up to the guardhouse, Kotetsu and Izumo stepped out. "Halt. State your names and business."

The man in the flak jacket stepped forward. "Team Tsurugi of Kirigakure reporting for the Chuunin Exams. I am Aisushado Tsurugi, jounin leader of the team. Team Tsurugi! Sound off!" he barked to the other three.

"Hozuki Suigetsu, genin of Kirigakure." said the shortest boy, stepping to the side of his sensei.

"Kujira Kiri, genin of Kirigakure," added the smiling boy, stepping up beside Suigetsu.

The two genin looked at the redhead expectantly, and he sighed and stepped forth. "Uzumaki Kirito, genin of Kirigakure."

Kotetsu and Izumo shared a quick look, then Tsurugi handed the two a set of papers. "These are the identification that we were given by the Yondaime Mizukage to present to you when we arrived."

The eternal chuunin looked over the papers for a few seconds, before nodding. "Seems legit," said Izumo, "go on ahead. You know where your accommodations are?"

"Yes, thank you," said Tsurugi as the team moved through the gates quickly...

...But little did they know, Team Kakashi had arrived soon after them, and Naruto had heard the last bit of the conversation.

"...Uzumaki...?" he whispered, filled with hope at the thought of having a family again.

* * *

**So there you go! This is the conclusion of the introductory chapter/prologue combination of my first posted story. Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you like it, favourite, follow it and all, but no flaming, please. **

**~Mitch**


	3. Ch 2: New Enemies and a Family Link!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

_**Last time, on Path of the Animal...**_

_We caught our first glimpse of Team Tsurugi, as they came to the aid of Team Kakashi in Nami no Kuni, saving them from the Demon Brothers, Gozu and Meizu, although they were probably in no danger at all, since their sensei had merely used a __**kawarimi**__ to dodge their fatal attack. The teams introduced themselves to each other, and among Team Tsurugi was Hozuki Suigetsu, Kujira Kiri, and a mysterious redheaded boy who would only introduce himself as "Kirito." After a cold response from Kirito, he and his teammates returned into the forest, leaving a sheepish Tsurugi behind to explain his students' actions. At the end, Team Tsurugi arrived in Konoha to check in for the upcoming Chuunin Exams; after a humorous exchange between Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, Team Tsurugi entered the village, and Team Kakashi heard the brief introduction of Kirito... where Naruto found out that Kirito was, in fact... an Uzumaki._

* * *

_**Now, on Path of the Animal!**_

It has been a day since Team Tsurugi arrived in Konohagakure. After checking in at their hotel, the jounin sensei decided to give his students the day off-but, the three decided to head off to a training area to spar.

The area they headed to was an open, grassy field lined with trees and on one side, a lake; three logs were placed in a row, and there wasn't much else in there. Hozuki Suigetsu gave a feral grin, bearing his sharp teeth. "This is gonna be fun as hell."

"Yeah, we can actually see things here," replied Kujira Kiri, already channeling a blue casing of chakra around his fists. He smiled a little as a breeze ran through his dark hair.

Uzumaki Kirito remained completely stoic as his red hair waved, tickling his nose a little. Then he sneezed. "Damn it!"

"HA!" yelled Suigetsu, pointing at him. "You owe me 500 ryo!"

"Can I pay you when we get back to the hotel? I didn't bring any money." said Kirito, looking utterly downcast.

Kiri shook his head, his smile growing. "This is what happens when you bet that you can stay quiet all day-against Suigetsu, of all people... besides, how would you use any jutsu if you couldn't speak?"

The Uzumaki of Kirigakure stared at his spiky-haired friend and teammate, then finally sighed out, "Damn. So I was going to lose anyway?"

Suigetsu chimed in cheerily, "Hell yeah you were~"

"So, who's going first?" said Kirito, arranging his scrolls so that his blank ones were on the front of his belt, flanking his twin brushes that he had in the exact middle. "I need to know so I can set up the music seal."

"I suppose Kiri and I, then." said Suigetsu, smirking as he moved toward the side with the lake...

"Oh, hell no!" said Kiri quickly, "You're not getting the side with the water! I'll be done for sure if you do." He walked quickly to where Suigetsu was heading and pushed the younger and shorter boy back, having the strength to overpower him.

"Kirito! Kiri's being mean to me!" Suigetsu said in a sarcastic, childish tone.

"Can you guys shut up? If I make one mistake on this last brush stroke, it'll blow us all to hell." said Kirito as he knelt over a scroll; "And... there!"

The three then heard, seemingly from the scroll, "_With our backs to the wall, the darkness will fall,_

_We never quite thought we could lose it all, _

_Ready! Aim! Fire! Ready! Aim! Fire!_

_An empire's falling, just one day,_

_You'll close your eyes and the glory fades,_

_Ready! Aim! Fire! Ready! Aim! Fire away!_

_Ready! Aim! Fire! Ready! Aim! Fire away!_"

Suigetsu grinned-"You've lost now, Kiri-this is my song!" he said, dropping into a low stance and grabbing ahold of one of his water bottles.

The spiky-haired boy smirked back, channeling chakra into his hands. "We'll just see about that."

"Ready, bakas?" said Kirito, smiling a tiny bit, though it was half-hidden behind his hair. "Hajime!"

Kujira Kiri took the first move, dashing toward his teammate with as much speed as he could gather. Hozuki Suigetsu merely stood there, still grinning, when Kiri reached him and attempted to jab at him with his chakra-enhanced hands, attempting to drain his chakra. The smaller, swifter boy dodged with relative ease, before turning his purple eyes to look directly in the black eyes of his senior teammate.

Suigetsu closed his mouth, one of his sharp teeth poking out slightly, giving him a slight resemblance of a hillbilly beaver, before melting into a puddle and sliding behind Kiri, before popping back into his human form. "Nice try, Kiri," he said, leaping into the air and performing a backflip, landing a few metres in front of the lake and performing a hand seal. **"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"** he yelled out; the water behind him began to gather into a column before forming a draconic head-then a gaping maw.

"...Shit." said Kiri as the dragon of water rushed his way, giving a roar like that of a thousand lions. He had to think-and fast. He quickly ran through a set of hand seals, remembering a technique his father had taught him to go with his Doton secondary affinity. **"Doton: Doryuheki no Jutsu!" **He clapped his hands together and knelt close to the ground, slamming his open palms into the grass-covered earth, creating a slate-grey wall of earth that burst out of the ground like a jack in the box.

The water dragon crashed into the rock wall with the force of several dozen bulls, but the wall held until the water finally dissipated. **"Kai!"** Kiri said, putting the flat of his palms against it, causing it to sink back into the ground.

"Hmm, not too bad Kiri. Unfortunately for you, I've got another trick up my sleeve!" said Suigetsu, grinning again and running through more seals. **"Kirigakure no Jutsu!"** he said.

The white-haired boy exhaled mist through his mouth, still grinning madly the whole time. Soon the whole field was covered in a thick white fog that not even Kirito, who had often trained with sensory seals, could pierce with his violet eyes.

"Not good..." Kiri muttered to himself, his eyes darting from side to side. He remembered that Suigetsu and his brother had wanted to become members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and were both quite skilled in the **Kirigakure no Jutsu**. He thought that he heard a noise off to his left, and he quickly formed a boar hand seal, calling out: **"Doton: Yoroi no Chikyu!"** as soil and rock lifted up from the ground and encased the arm as he raised it in a defensive manoeuver...

...And then he felt Suigetsu's leg sweep under his legs, from the opposite direction, knocking him to the ground. The cold steel of a kunai crossed Kiri's throat as the mist lifted, and he saw Suigetsu kneeling atop him with a mad grin on his face. "That was fun!" laughed the younger boy.

Kiri grinned back, "This was one of our more fun spars," he admitted, "although I can't help but wish I used more aggressive techniques, but oh well, what's done is done."

"I agree," said Kirito, who was focused on powering down the music seal. "Didn't you say sensei had taught you some new Earth Release techniques?"

"Hai, but I couldn't quite see an opening for them," said the black-haired boy, "they require a bit of time to set up-he taught me two A-ranks and a B-rank... and of course, you know how long it takes to set up the stronger techniques."

Kirito nodded quietly, grinning a little in anticipation. "I guess it's my turn..."

"Maa, maa... what have we here?" said a voice from the entrance of the field; the trio looked back and saw none other than Team Kakashi.

Kakashi still wore his flak jacket and black shirt and pants, and of course his mask and hitai-ate over his eye. Sakura wore her same dress and her hitai-ate the same way, though her pink hair was longer than when they had last seen her-Suigetsu would not admit it to the others, but he thought she was rather cute.

Sasuke retained his cold demeanour, and his hair still looked like a duck's butt; he still wore the purple high-collared shirt with a paper fan on the back, and of course his black pants.

Naruto was his usual cheery self, grinning and waving at the three of them, seemingly haven forgotten all about the day before, when, unbeknownst to Team Tsurugi, he had overheard Kirito's revelation of being an Uzumaki. He wore his orange and blue tracksuit, with the white collar. His eyes, Kirito realized, upon looking at them more clearly, were not violet like his and Kushina's, but blue, though the shape of Naruto's eyes were exactly like those of Kirito and Uzumaki Kushina.

A few seconds after Team Kakashi had arrived, Tsurugi himself appeared, grinning at his team through his beard. "See, Kakashi? I told you they'd be here." he said, walking drunkenly toward his students. "You three were sparring again?"

"Hai, sensei," said Kirito, arms snapping to his sides as the other two followed suit. They bowed to their teacher, and Kiri continued, "Suigetsu and I were up against each other. He managed to defeat me, and then he was about to face Kirito before you five showed up."

"Sorry to disturb, but we were just wondering if you would like to join our team for lunch," said Kakashi with his famous one-eye smile.

The trio of Kiri genin looked at each other, and two out of three stomachs growled. Kiri and Kirito looked over toward Suigetsu, who was the one whose stomach had not responded to the offer of food. Kirito was inwardly smirking-the appetite suppression seal he placed on him last night would be depriving the Hozuki of one of his greatest pleasures: food.

The white-haired boy rubbed his belly almost pleadingly, then he started poking at it. "C'mon you asshole! I want to eaaaaaaat~" he said in a comedic voice.

The other two students of Aisushado Tsurugi smirked at each other as the middle-oldest knew exactly what was happening. "Appetite suppression?" he asked quietly. At the oldest boy's affirmative nod and grin, he immediately turned to Suigetsu-"Oi! Suigetsu! Kirito put a seal on you last night~"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT!"

"Oh hell." said Kirito calmly, sweatdropping.

Everyone present except for Suigetsu looked Kirito straight in the eye and said, at the exact same time-it was actually a tiny bit creepy, to be honest, "You might want to run."

"OMAERA BUKKOROSU ZO!" yelled Suigetsu, charging at the redhead with fury that would rival a certain man with a tendency to transform into an immensely strong green creature.

Kirito took off like all hell was on his heels with a yell of, "SAVE ME, NEE-CHAN!"

If it weren't for the fact that Kirito seemed legitimately scared and Suigetsu seemed totally serious, it would almost be funny-but the Hozuki had already missed one meal that day, and he did not wish to miss another.

* * *

After Suigetsu came off his lack-of-food-induced rage and ceased chasing Uzumaki Kirito around the practice field, the redheaded seals master reluctantly released the seal he had placed on him during the night. Much to their surprise, the group was still waiting for them-"Hn, it wasn't even ten minutes," said Sasuke curtly when Kirito asked why they were still waiting.

"So where are we going?" asked Suigetsu eagerly. "I'll eat anything. Unagi, barbecue, ramen, jello, yogurt..."

"He likes drinkable things," interjected Kiri with a cheerful smile as the group walked back into Konoha. All the while, Suigetsu was still listing things he liked to eat...

"Oh, and I like sushi... I don't like cuttlefish, though..."

"Is he always like this?" Naruto whispered to the tall redhead. At the other Uzumaki's nod, he replied, "I hope he likes ramen-hell, he's going to like it. This place is the best in the world!"

Kirito then asked quietly, "...Do they have vegetarian dishes?"

"Huh?" said Naruto, confused for a second. "Yeah... why?"

"I don't eat meat." was the simple reply.

"He is able to summon a lot of the animals humans tend to use as meat in dishes," said Kiri, "therefore, he prefers to remain vegetarian to avoid thinking about eating one of his friends."

"Yeah, like one time, we gave him a kabob-we told him it was tofu," began Suigetsu.

"No, damn it!" said Kirito somewhat loudly-at least by his standards, that is. "We swore we would never speak of that again!"

Tsurugi continued, having to hold back a small laugh, "It was actually from a cow... when the waitress came around with soup and asked how he was enjoying his beef..."

"Sensei...! Not you too!" whined Kirito.

Suigetsu grinned, "He looked at the kabob again, then leaned over into one of the bowls she was holding and straight-up blew chunks into it and all over her."

"She freaked out." added Kiri.

"Yeah? Well the joke's on you guys," said Kirito with a tiny smirk. "Do you remember what happened after that?"

...The two students and their sensei's grins faded. "Oh yeah," said Suigetsu almost unhappily. Tsurugi shook his head, though he was still laughing a bit.

"What happened?" asked Sakura curiously.

"He offered to help her clean up and all night-" began Kiri before the redhead clamped his hand around his mouth.

"Probably shouldn't be talked about when there are children in our midst." said Kirito shortly, removing his hand from his teammate's mouth.

"Let's just say he offered to clean her clothes for her too." ended Suigetsu as their sensei burst out laughing. "Sensei, are you drunk?" he asked at the clumsy manner their teacher was walking.

"Nah... just had a little sake before we came to get you." was the sing-songy reply as the jounin from Kirigakure fell backward and laughed loudly.

Kakashi chuckled a little. "He's a real lightweight when it comes to that stuff." he said, shaking his head. "He didn't even drink a full shot."

Kirito and Kiri sighed loudly as they pulled their teacher up. "Come on, sensei, let's go." said Suigetsu as he pushed him along, the former two dragging him.

* * *

After dragging their sensei back to their hotel room and putting him to bed, the students of Tsurugi followed Team Kakashi to a small food stand known as Ramen Ichiraku. It was rather humble, though the smell coming from it was incredibly appetizing; its outre walls were a bluish grey and the slanted roof matched it, and on the inside lights burned brightly; several pieces of cloth rested outside with kanji written on them. As the seven teens and the adult stepped into the bar, they were met with a cheery female voice.

"Hi! Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku, I'll be right with you!"

The spiky-haired blonde boy grinned and said to the three Kiri ninja, "You guys are in for a real treat today. This is the best place in the village!"

"Ah! Naruto-nii!" said the female voice as a brown-haired girl ran out from the back. Her skin was fair and her eyes were brown, and she wore a white robe and bandana with a bluish green apron.

"Hey Ayame-nee!" replied the blonde. "How's business today?"

"A little slow," replied Ayame, smiling brightly. "Although since you're here, I'm assuming it's going to definitely be picking up... who are your friends?" she added, her eyes moving to the three strangers with him and his team, particularly resting on the red-haired boy who appeared to be around her own age.

Kiri and Suigetsu glanced at each other as they saw the girl's eyes moving across their older teammate, sharing a tiny grin. "These three are from Kiri," began Kakashi, before Suigetsu cut in.

"Pardon the interruption, Kakashi-sensei, but we can handle it ourselves. We're from Kiri, in for the Chuunin Exams coming up," explained the white-haired boy. "I'm Hozuki Suigetsu of Team Tsurugi. These are my teammates, Kujira Kiri," he motioned to the boy who not even an hour earlier was trying to tear him apart with chakra-enhanced strikes, then to the red-haired seals master, "and Kirito."

Ayame gave Kirito a flirty smile, flipping her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Kirito. I'm Ayame-my father and I own this stand."

Kirito merely gave her a quick and somewhat impolite nod.

"Um... anyway, what can I get for you all?" she asked somewhat awkwardly.

"The usual for me, Ayame-nee!" said Naruto cheerily.

Sakura ordered a vegetable ramen in a pork broth, Kakashi asked for whatever Naruto was having, and Sasuke left to get some dango-after which Naruto called him several names, including "a freaking dango loving duck ass." Suigetsu ordered a bit of beef broth, which he held under Kirito's nose to torment him for some time, and Kirito had miso and pork ramen with extra vegetables.

"And what'll it be for you, Kirito-kun?" asked Ayame.

"Umm..." Kirito thought for a moment, looking over the menu. "I'll have vegetable ramen, please... do you have a vegetable broth?"

"He's a vegetarian," Naruto whispered to her. Ayame nodded in sudden understanding.

"Sure thing, Kirito-kun. I'll have it right out for you." she said with a wink, heading back into the back room. After a few minutes of quiet slurping from everyone else in the stand, Ayame came out, along with a tall man with deeply tanned skin and a similar outfit to Ayame, except with a paper chef's hat on top. He carried a bowl of noodles and set it down in front of the redhead.

"Teuchi-oji-san!" said Naruto, stopping mid-slurp with some noodles still in his mouth.

"Hello Naruto!" said the man now named Teuchi, giving the boy an almost fatherly smile. He then turned to Kirito and said, "This is my first time making ramen with a vegetable broth in a while. I hope it tastes alright."

"Arigatou," said Kirito quietly, taking a pair of chopsticks and practically digging into the ramen, slurping happily. After a second, he slurped up one last bit of noodles-barely a third of the bowl was gone-and set down his chopsticks.

"Well? How is it?" Teuchi asked hopefully.

In response, Kirito gave a thumbs-up before grabbing both sides of the bowl and putting it to his mouth, slurping and drinking it all down happily. When he set it down again, he smiled a little and said, "Delicious. Arigatou, Teuchi-san."

Teuchi laughed heartily. "I'm glad you liked it, kid! Come back any time!" and with that, he retreated to the back room, right as the three Kiri nin began to belch loudly.

The reactions were varied-Ayame and Sakura looked shocked, Naruto was in the middle of his fifteenth bowl of ramen, and Kakashi gave an eye-smile. "Oh, sorry," said Kujira Kiri somewhat awkwardly.

"Back home in Kiri, it's considered an immense compliment if you burp loudly after a meal." explained Suigetsu.

"...Oh, lovely." said Ayame, relaxing a bit.

Kakashi then added, "Forgive them-they've never been to Konoha, I don't think they've learned that it's impolite to belch."

"It's not?" said Kirito as he started on a third bowl of the ramen.

"No, it's not," replied Ayame, leaning over the counter in front of Kirito. "But I guess I'll forgive you and your friends this time, Kirito-kun." she added, poking him on the nose as she would with a cute pet.

This earned a response from Kirito-he tilted his face up, his ramen-covered face up, and said, "Please don't touch me while I'm eating. Thank you." and with that he went back to eating.

Ayame sighed a bit, heaving her chest in an almost teasing manner.

The redhead took no notice.

Kiri and Suigetsu exchanged another look and a sigh-they couldn't believe how oblivious the boy was. Though they supposed that they shouldn't be shocked-never in their time knowing the older teen had they known him to have a girlfriend-or any female friend that they could remember.

The brown-haired girl sighed once more and turned back to the back counter. The two non-redheaded members of Team Tsurugi then gave each other a devious grin-and Suigetsu called out, "I don't know what Ayame will say, Kirito, ask her!"

And then redhead's violet eyes widened owlishly as he turned and glared at his white-haired friend, forcing him to keep his arms down to avoid strangling the boy. "Ask me what?" said Ayame, turning back to the three.

"Oh, Kirito was just wondering if you'd go on a date with him sometime." replied Kiri as if it were nothing.

Ayame's face lit up brightly as she smiled. "I'd love to! My father needs my help with something tonight, but I'm free tomorrow. My shift ends at six."

Suigetsu, who had moved his hand to clamp Kirito's mouth shut, replied, "Great. He'll be here tomorrow at six." He removed his hand from the redhead's mouth, because even though his hands were stronger than Kirito's, he withdrew as soon as he saw the sharp yellow eyes of a ferret looking out from the collar of his silver shirt.

The girl smiled brightly as she leaned across the counter and kissed Kirito on the cheek, and after releasing him the latter's face was as red as his hair. Kirito didn't have the heart to turn the girl down now, so instead he merely leaned over and whispered to his teammates, "You do realize you're going to meet either Dokuhime or Seinaru tonight, right?"

The two of them merely grinned at him and said, "Worth it!"

* * *

After another hour of eating between the two Uzumakis, the group finally paid and left. Kakashi split from the group in order to "file a mission report"-probably just going off to read-and Kirito went off to buy some more blank scrolls. Now, Kujira Kiri and Hozuki Suigetsu walked down a fence-lined street with Uzumaki Naruto (who they knew for sure to be related to their own Uzumaki) and Haruno Sakura.

The sun beat down brightly on the four of them as Naruto and Suigetsu kept arguing back and forth about who was stronger. "Oh yeah, pipsqueak?! You wanna fight about it?!" argued Suigetsu as he caused several water droplets in the air to condense into ice.

"Hell yeah! Dattebayo!"

Kiri and Sakura sighed slightly and looked at each other. "Is he always like this?" the two asked at the exact same time, then their answer also came simultaneously-"Yes."

"...What is that?" said Suigetsu quickly, pointing at a large square rock with... eyes. It seemed to be scooting toward them, in an almost stealthy attempt.

The Uzumaki shook his head, "C'mon Konohamaru! How stupid do you think I am?"

"So you saw through my disguise again! You're slick, boss!" came a voice from inside the rock. A sudden flash and loud bang, and three children appeared.

One was somewhat short (though tall compared to the others) with short, spiky brown hair and black eyes. He wore a yellow shirt with the red imprint of the Konoha symbol, grey shorts, a long blue scarf and goggles. He grinned at Naruto, exposing a chipped tooth. The other boy had short brown hair and dark eyes; he wore a black zippered shirt and blue pants, as well as glasses and a similar pair of goggles and a snot droplet hanging out of his nose.

Finally, the lone female of the group had orange hair tied up into very large pigtails, fair skin and dark eyes; she wore a red tank top over her pink t-shirt with grey pants, and another pair of goggles, as well as a bright blush on her face.

"Allow me to introduce myself!" Konohamaru began, but Naruto facepalmed and deadpanned,

"Konohamaru, we know who you are..."

"Ah! But your new friends don't! And you've never met the squad~" he sang. He crossed his arms. "I am Sarutobi Konohamaru! Leader of the group."

"I am Udon, and I love algebra!" said the boy with the glasses, leaping into position beside Konohamaru.

"And I'm Moegi, the cutest kunoichi in the academy!" said the girl, jumping to Konohamaru's side.

"And together we're..." they said simultaneously, "THE KONOHAMARU NINJA SQUAD!"

"...Is this normal?" Suigetsu whispered to the blonde he was just arguing with.

"Yep." Naruto deadpanned.

"So, boss, gonna play with us like you promised or what?!" Konohamaru demanded.

"Uh..." said the blonde, looking slightly embarrassed.

"C'mon! You said you'd play ninja with us today!" said Moegi.

Naruto felt the gaze of the three ninjas with him, and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Eheheh..."

"A ninja... playing ninja." said Suigetsu, shaking his head. "I think I know who won here."

"Grr... shut up!"

Konohamaru and Udon looked at each other when they saw Sakura staring awkwardly at Naruto. A sly grin crossed the Sarutobi's face as he said, "Hey boss... is that girl your... girlfriend?"

Sakura glared at the two little ninja, then at Naruto when she heard his nervous laugh. "Eheheh... yeah, she's... preeeeeeetty crazy for me."

...And then he went flying when Sakura's fist crashed into his cheek.

Konohamaru was totally in shock-"How can you do that to him! You ugly witch!"

Then she cracked her knuckles and turned her stare on him, moving toward him slowly with the look on her face that says basically, "You're going to die."

...So of course, the boy took off running as if all hell were on his heels, because as they say, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Konohamaru fell to the ground a few seconds later after bumping into something-not something, someone. Someone in a black outfit that looked rather like a cat, with something similar to a body wrapped in gauze strapped to his back, towered over the boy. His skin was tan and he had purple lines on his face, similar to makeup.

Beside him was a blonde a tiny bit shorter than him, with her hair tied into four ponytails. Her eyes were teal and round; she wore a light purple top that hung off her shoulders that extended midway down her thighs; a scarlet sash was tied around it, binding it to her waist. She wore fishnet around her shoulders and legs, and a black Suna hitai-ate around her neck.

"Did you need something?" asked the guy in the catsuit.

"Uh..." Konohamaru said, trying to put together words.

"Hey, sorry," said Sakura, walking up to them. "It's my fault..."

"You know something, kid?" said the boy, picking Konohamaru up by the scruff of his neck. "You're all annoying. And I hate annoying people." he drew his fist back to strike the boy.

"Kankuro, leave him alone." said the blonde girl forcefully.

"C'mon Temari, let me have a little fun, damn it!"

Then they heard a chittering in the air, and a "Seinaru! Now!"

"AHH!" screamed Kankuro as Konohamaru fell to the ground. The boy in the catsuit clutched his forearm; the cloth around it was torn and the skin was bleeding, and in a defensive position in front of Konohamaru was a long, purplish-grey weasel.

"Huh? A weasel?" said the girl named Temari quietly.

Kankuro shot a glare in the direction the weasel had come from, and up on a tree branch, shaded by the leaves, was a red-haired boy with a silver t-shirt and black shorts; on his arm was a Kirigakure hitai-ate. "It's not very nice to pick on kids, you know." he said stoically.

"Hey you! Get the hell down here!" growled Kankuro.

"Kirito!" said Suigetsu and Kiri together. Sakura merely turned her green eyes up toward him, and Naruto was still partially out cold, though he did utter, "Ramen..."

"If that's what you want," said Kirito uncaringly, leaping from the tree to stand in front of Kankuro-who was actually a little intimidated, because the redhead was almost a whole foot taller than him.

'_Hmm... kinda cute,_' thought Temari with a tiny blush. She then watched as the weasel scampered over to the boy and clambered up his back, popping out of his shirt and glaring fiercely at Kankuro.

"Something you wanted to say?" continued Kirito, walking closer to Kankuro, in a typical animal instinct of making himself look even bigger.

"Um..." said Kankuro, actually scared now.

Suddenly Kirito stopped as he felt Seinaru beginning to quake on his shoulders, "Huh? Seinaru, what's wrong?" he whispered to her, petting the weasel's furry head. Then a chill ran down his spine as he felt what she was-since he was so attuned with the animals, he had a very high sensory ability.

Someone who was incredibly powerful was close-too close for comfort. "Kankuro..." said a voice from the exact tree that Kirito was sitting in mere moments earlier. Kirito looked over and saw a short boy, even shorter than Suigetsu, standing upside down against a treebranch; he had fair skin and curly red hair, with black rings around his pale bluish-green eyes; he wore a black bodysuit with short sleeves that went down 3/4 of the way on his legs, and an open neck. On his back he carried a large sand gourd. "...leave them alone. Or I'll kill you."

"G-Gaara..." said Kankuro frightfully, backing away. "Um... sorry for the trouble, guys." he said sheepishly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for my brother's actions," said Temari as she began to turn away, stealing one last glance at Kirito. She already started walking away when Gaara leapt down from the tree.

"You..." said the curly haired boy, staring directly at the taller redhead. "What is your name?"

"My name... my name is Uzumaki Kirito." said Kirito, no longer caring about keeping his clan name a secret. "Might I have yours?"

"I am Sabaku no Gaara..." said the short boy, now named Gaara. "Mother... she wants your blood, Uzumaki Kirito..."

"I look forward to fighting you."

"HEY!" said Naruto's loud voice as he bounded up to them, "I bet you're dying to know my name, huh?!"

Gaara looked at him without a care. "I couldn't care less." and with that, he was gone in a **Suna Shunshin**.

"Well..." said Kiri awkwardly.

"Say, Kirito..." said Naruto softly. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, Naruto."

"Follow me."

* * *

Naruto and Kirito made their way up to the Hokage monument-the faces of the four past Hokage, including the Sandaime, who at the time was still currently alive and in office, carved into the side of a mountain. A large forest was atop the mountain, with tall trees.

When they reached the head of the Yondaime Hokage, Naruto said to Kirito, "You know... whenever I need to clear my head, this is where I go." he said, sitting down on top of the stone head. Kirito began to sit down for a second, but then stood back up but finally sat down.

"Really?"

"Yeah... you know, I was exploring around here one day, and there's something I found..." Naruto said as the two looked over the village.

"And what is that?"

Wordlessly, Naruto stood up and walked straight into the forest. Seinaru crawled out of Kirito's shirt and rested around his shoulders as he walked after the younger genin.

After about a mile or two of walking, they finally came to an area where the trees parted and the sun shone down on a clearing. In the middle of it sat two polished black stones. Naruto made his way to one, and Kirito followed. "Read it."

Kirito knelt down in front of it and glanced over it. "It's a gravestone..." he said quietly, looking at the inscription.

_Uzumaki Kushina_, it read.

"No..." whispered Kirito, his eyes glistening with tears...

"What?"

"...Nee-chan..."

* * *

**So there you have it! I do believe that you all figured out that Kushina was Kirito's older sister, but I figured it would be better if Naruto knew at least of his mother-so that he knew Kirito was his uncle, because that's going to be playing a big part in the Chuunin Exam arc. Anyway, I was trying to work in a few different episodes of the anime here so that we wouldn't have so many chapters per arc-tell me if you like how I did this, because if you want I can always just do it one chapter/episode at a time. As always, leave a review if you like, follow and favourite! Also, what do you guys think about Suigetsu and Sakura maybe trying a relationship? Of course, it would most likely end at the end of the Chuunin Exams arc, or sooner because as you know the final pairing is going to be NaruSaku. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading! Peace out~**

**P.S. I remembered that last chapter I made a typo-Kogane Kotetsu is actually Hagane Kotetsu. So know that I noticed that, and don't correct me on it at anytime because I've realized it by now... OH! And the song used during Kiri and Suigetsu's sparring match was "Ready! Aim! Fire!" by Imagine Dragons. Plus, "Omaera Bukkorosu Zo" loosely translates to "I'm gonna kill you!" or "I'm gonna beat you to death!" the latter of which being the more accurate turn.**


	4. Kirito's Former Life: Installment I

**Uh… hey, everybody! Mitch here. Anyway, today, I have something special for you that'll be popping up from time to time: a short chapter completely devoted to events that happened in Kirito's original lifetime—with Asuna. Also, before I start this (I'm gonna ask this again at the end, just to make sure you notice it, because I REALLY want your feedback on this) I want to know what you guys think about making Temari become Asuna reborn (I'm personally leaning away from this, although I can definitely work with it) or have Asuna reborn as someone else, although she won't be with Kirito because, as you all know, this story isn't OC/OC, it's OC/Temari and obviously Naruto/Sakura. This second one is the way I could probably work with the best, especially since I have no idea which of the Paths Temari would become (Hint: You guys could choose that if I go with the first one). That's really about it, but I really want this to be known: whenever it's one of these chapters, I'll be sure to mention it… oh, and the official theme song for these past chapters is "I Remember You" by Skid Row. Great song… really tugs at your heart, especially when it's along the lines of this (just listen to it, you'll know why).**

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**Disclaimer: Why do you think I still own Naruto? Seriously!**

* * *

_Twenty-three years prior to the main storyline, Kirigakure no Sato_

The morning was slowly dragging on for the Academy Students at the Shinobi Academy in Kirigakure. The day prior was their weekly Taijutsu tournament, where the students of each year fought for supremacy over one another, so this very day was a free day.

I do suppose that I should mention the hero of our story, the redheaded Uzumaki Kirito. He once more repeated his usual performance in said tournament… which was among the dead last—Kirito was quite smart, and constantly decided to get out of the tournament early so that he would not have to face the beasts of the class, primarily one Momochi Zabuza, who, though Kirito would not admit it, actually scared the redhead somewhat.

Since the graduation exams were coming up for those in their sixth and final year at the Academy, the students in said year (including Kirito) had been herded into the library to get some studying done. Our beloved redhead had retreated into a corner of the big room with his closest (…actually only) friend, Sukōru Kaihei, heir to the Sukōru clan and their two powerful creations: Ensuiton, the Brine Release, and Repputon, the Gale Release. Despite the greatness of his clan, Kaihei himself was often believed to be a failure, a dud if you will. He shared the same look as all his clan—deeply tanned skin from many hours at sea, with long, somewhat dirty black hair and sharp eyes as green as the sea, though he had a much smaller and shorter build than his clansmen—something that was only the beginning of the reasons he was called a failure.

The Sukōru Clan of Kirigakure, known for its two powerful secondary releases, as well as the primary affinities of Fuuton and Suiton, and very often Raiton as well, were also easily recognized by their cold personalities and scary powerful body builds. Kaihei was, in contrast, small and lithe, with an incredibly nice personality (something which made the normally noncaring and stoic Uzumaki open up to him) and actually rather weak affinity toward both wind AND water (he was, however, rather good with lightning release, and to a lesser degree Katon, something which was EXTREMELY rare in Kiri). He too was a bit of an outcast with the other Kiri students, most of whom were usually somewhat cruel (aside from a certain brunette, but she's not very important as of yet), seeing as he was so nice, and very smart.

Kaihei wore a loose-fitting black shirt with black pants, as well as black shoes. On his shirt there was a circle that was divided into three sections: one red, one yellow and one blue. In his ears he had a set of earrings that were often used by members of the Sukōru clan; they had storage seals on them, and if you merely channeled chakra into them you could call forth several gallons of water. This would be useful, if not for the fact of the boy's weakness to water.

Moving on, Kirito and Kaihei were engaged in a discussion about the chakra chains that were used by Kirito's older sister, Kushina (who was already a Jounin at the mere age of 15). Kaihei was attempting to assert that the chains were a Kekkai Genkai, seeing as how in history only members of the Uzumaki were able to create these.

Contrariwise, Kirito was retorting that it couldn't be a Kekkai Genkai, because neither he, nor his father, nor his grandfather could make them. "Perhaps Uzumaki women have higher chakra capabilities than the Uzumaki men. It wouldn't be totally surprising." offered Kaihei, scribbling something down on a scroll.

"Then how do you explain how my kaa-san couldn't create them?"

"She wasn't an Uzumaki, was she?" at Kirito's hesitant shake of the head, he replied, "There you go. She wasn't an Uzumaki—so she couldn't create chakra chains."

The two of them continued on like this for quite some time, not quite studying as they were supposed to. Then, roughly an hour later, a brunette girl that neither of them had seen before walked quietly up to their table. "Umm… excuse me… would you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." She had green eyes and wore a silvery blue top with black pants. On her shirt was a pattern similar to the Uzumaki swirl, though instead of the inner swirl in the centre, there was the kanji for wind.

Kirito and Kaihei shared a quick glance—this had long been known as _their_ table… just as the Sukōru heir was about to turn her down, Kirito, who for some reason found this girl cute (though he wouldn't willingly admit it) spoke up; "Hai. Go ahead."

"Arigatou," said the girl with a small smile, which set Kirito's heart aflutter. "My name is Asuna. Uzukaze Asuna."

"Sukōru Kaihei," introduced the heir.

"Uzumaki Kirito, at your service." stuttered out Kirito, much to Kaihei's surprise. While Kirito didn't talk very much to other people (usually less than two words at a time), he certainly didn't stutter. "Are you new here?"

The girl known as Uzukaze Asuna looked at Kirito weirdly, giggled a little and said, "No, I've been here as long as you two have, I think. I just don't particularly stand out that much."

"Heh, sounds like you're one of us then," said Kaihei with a small chuckle. "We don't stand out. We watch and we're proud of it."

"Can't be watching too well, considering Kirito here."

Kaihei laughed a little, and Asuna giggled-then Kirito said dryly, "Everybody's a critic." causing the two to laugh even more.

"So what are you guys studying?" asked Asuna curiously, after finally ceasing her laughter-though she was now somewhat close to being in tears.

The two boys shared a look. "We weren't studying, per se. More of a debate." said Kaihei.

"About what?"

"...I can't tell you that." said Kirito.

"Why not?"

"...Uh... because it's about secrets vital to the wellbeing of Kirigakure."

Asuna giggled loudly at that, making Kirito's heart do backflips.

* * *

From that moment on, Asuna had stuck with Kirito and Kaihei, and outside of school the three would see each other and train quite often. On one visit to the home Kirito shared with his older sister Kushina, said sister revealed to her brother and Asuna that the Uzumaki and Uzukaze clans had come from the same place-Uzushiogakure-and that their families were actually very close allies; Asuna's grandfather and Kirito and Kushina's grandfather had actually fought and died in the sacking of Uzu beside one another.

The three of them began training together, and at one point Kushina actually helped the three figure out their elemental affinities. Kaihei had both lightning and fire affinities with a very weak ability for water. Kirito had a very strong water affinity (as most members of the Uzumaki clan did) as well as a lesser, but still there, affinity for lightning. Asuna, however, was surprising-she had extremely powerful affinities for both water and wind; the only reason it was at all shocking was the fact that she was a mere Academy Student-Kushina was a Jounin and had only recently discovered her second affinity, which was, by luck, for wind as well. Add that to the fact that both affinities were very powerful.

So from then, Kushina was helping her little brother and Asuna with their water manipulation, and of course Asuna with her wind affinity. She did her best to help Kaihei with his water affinity, but it wouldn't work very well.

During the training, Kirito discovered an intense love for fuinjutsu, the art of sealing, and Asuna found a liking for kenjutsu, the art of the sword. Kushina trained them very hard, and expected no less than their best effort. It was grueling training, yes, but rewarding. The three friends passed at the top of their class, and were among the first to be chosen as Genin students by none other than Uzumaki Kushina herself.

Kirito and Asuna quickly became even closer-after Kushina was left in charge of him, Kirito had been taught kenjutsu. He began to teach Asuna with a simple tanto, and in return she would bring him scrolls on fuinjutsu. Kirito and Kaihei's relationship only got stronger, with the two training their shared lightning affinities, eventually becoming a brotherly bond.

All in all, they became a very close group of friends, all very close to their sensei-who, I might add, was merely three years older than them. Quickly they became one of Kiri's most powerful genin teams, known throughout the village.

And that, dear friends, is a mere introduction to the former life of Uzumaki Kirito. But as there is surely more to learn in Kirito's new life, there is near as much to learn about his old life.

Until the next time, my dear readers... fare thee well.

* * *

**And there you have the first installment of... Kirito's former life *dramatic stare*. Anyway, like I said, these will pop up from time to time when I have something to ask, or I just don't quite know what to write about. This hints at some of Kirito-chan's skills, aside from now his animal powers, as well as one of his old friends who will probably make an appearance later in the series. Also, you can see that Kirito wasn't quite as stoic as he is now, eh?**

**Anyway, now for the question at hand, repeated: I want to know what you guys think about making Temari become Asuna reborn (I'm personally leaning away from this, although I can definitely work with it) or have Asuna reborn as someone else, although she won't be with Kirito because, as you all know, this story isn't OC/OC, it's OC/Temari and obviously Naruto/Sakura. This second one is the way I could probably work with the best, especially since I have no idea which of the Paths Temari would become (Hint: You guys could choose that if I go with the first one).**


	5. Chapter 3: Dating Woes!

**Heeeey everybody, been a while! Don't look at me like that, I actually have a decent excuse… I got WAAAAY too into Breaking Bad. Oh, and this last week me and a bunch of the guys were at a wedding (plus yesterday, if this is going up on the 28****th****, was Chase's birthday, and then today, again if this is the 28****th****, is CJ's birthday). I don't really have anything else to say, aside from that there's not really much to this chapter, more of a ****humorous**** tone in the beginning and later on it gets a bit more dramatic, with some glimpses into Kirito's past life. Just… just read on, yo.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Yo. I don't own any of the characters, yeah. I don't own any songs/other references I may use in this, yeah. They all belong to their respective owners—and none of those people are me, yeah. I only own my characters, yeah. I definitely don't own Deidara, or his constant use of yeah, yeah.**

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU IDIOTS THINKING?!"

"Damn, Kirito, couldn't you wait until we were in the room?"

"I'm going to kick your asses."

"Kirito…"

"Don't even speak, Kiri."

Less than three hours have passed since Team Kakashi, minus Sasuke, and Team Tsurugi met the Sand Siblings—also three hours since Kiri and Suigetsu scored their elder teammate a date with Ayame, the daughter of the Ichiraku Ramen chef Teuchi—a date that Kirito was very much against, might I add.

"Kirito, can you quiet down please…?" asked their jounin instructor, who was sprawled out on the couch as they walked into the room. "I'm hungover."

"Your fault, sensei." replied the redhead as he stormed toward his sleeping quarters.

The hotel room assigned to the genin team was nice enough; it had a decent-sized living room with two couches, a leather armchair, a bookshelf and an entertainment centre with a television and radio. A hallway on the right of the TV, which was situated at the left wall, led to a kitchenette area with a small refrigerator and a microwave, as well as a sink. Directly across from that hallway, a similar hall led to their sleeping areas; two doors led to separate bedrooms (the three genin were forced to share, though oftentimes Kirito ended up being found on the couch every morning, claiming he "couldn't sleep because of the noxious gas these jackasses give off"), each with their own bathrooms. A bathroom with a nice shower and toilet were across from the room the boys shared.

Currently, Tsurugi lay drunkenly on one of the couches, in the middle of watching some movie; the boys weren't quite sure what the movie was about, but from what they saw on-screen it was probably a comedy, considering the fact that the boy that was shown had his hand glued to his lower areas **(Hopefully you get this reference already… but if you don't, it's a reference to American Pie 2)**. He laughed weakly on occasion, but most of the time he had his arm over his eyes protectively.

He sighed loudly and said, "What did you two do to piss off Kirito this time…?"

"Nothing," said Suigetsu with a shrug. "He should be happy. We set him up on a date with a pretty good-looking girl."

Tsurugi slammed his fist on the coffee table and pushed himself up, staring Suigetsu right in the eye. "You… _what_?"

"…We set him up with a girl." replied Suigetsu, feeling his sensei glaring at him.

"Was it just you, Suigetsu? Or were you in on it too, Kiri?"

"It was both of us…" said Kiri quietly.

The jounin shook his head; "They don't pay me enough to handle kids…" he muttered. He sighed a little. "I'd expect this from you, Suigetsu… but Kiri, you've known Kirito for almost three years now. You know how he is."

"Know what?" asked Suigetsu.

"Kirito doesn't date." was Kiri's simple reply.

"Why doesn't he?" prodded Suigetsu.

"Let's see…" began Tsurugi, "he doesn't like people, can be pretty harsh, oh, and he actually has a pretty foul mouth."

"Well then, we're just going to have to make him presentable!"

"…Good luck with that," Tsurugi laughed.

* * *

After several hours (roughly twelve to be exact, so the sun was barely beginning to rise) of plotting in the room shared by Kiri and Suigetsu (Kirito having taken over the room that belonged to their sensei, who was still on the couch, though he was watching what appeared to be a sequel to the prior movie), the two younger genin finally decided that in order to make Kirito presentable for his date with the girl from the ramen stand, they would need some tools: tape, camouflage and the ability for basic genjutsu—the third tool being completely lacked by them.

…So of course, they settled for giant black cloaks, put tape over Kirito's mouth, and controlled his movements with their shrouded arms. That night, considering it had taken the whole day for the idiots to subdue the slightly older master of Fuinjutsu, they walked Kirito over to Ichiraku Ramen, clad in their cloaks and moving Kirito's limbs like puppetmasters. Ayame, dressed in a dark purple dress that accentuated her curves—and, according to Suigetsu, made her look sexy as hell (just because of the colour purple)—as well as a golden chain necklace with a charm in the form of the kanji for "heart". She smiled at Kirito, not noticing the fact that he had tape over his mouth (nor did she notice the two morons dressed in black cloaks that were trying to control the boy she was on a date with… or the fact that the redhead from Kirigakure was attempting to cry for help through his gag.

"Hi, Ayame-chan," said Suigetsu in his best attempt at Kirito's voice—it was too high-pitched.

"Hi Kirito-kun… is something wrong with your voice?" asked Ayame, worried that her date may be sick.

"No, no, everything is fine." said Kiri in his much better attempt (of course, he did have a few more years of practice than the white-haired boy) after he smacked his companion on the back of the head. "Just… caught up in your beauty."

"Oh my…" said Ayame with a bright blush, bringing her hand up to her face cutely. She batted her eyes at the redhead, who was currently thrashing at his "invisible" manipulators… well, _attempting_ to thrash at the boys, though all he managed to do was land a light smack to Suigetsu's face.

"Settle the hell down!" hissed Suigetsu, pinching Kirito in the leg.

"SOPH OPH A BIPH!" shrieked Kirito through his gag, thrashing more, though nobody seemed to pay him any mind.

"So, where are we going?" asked Ayame as she walked over to him, as Suigetsu moved his hand to take hers. She blushed at the contact and Kirito tried to kick the white-haired boy in the face, only to be held back by a Charlie horse, almost making his knees buckle. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine," said Kiri quickly, "just once more engrossed in your beauty."

Ayame blushed once more. "I think that deserves a kiss…" she said, puckering her lips and leaning toward Kirito.

The cloaked boys looked at each other in panic, as Kiri raised the arm he was in control of and said, "I'm sorry, but I think it might be a little too early for that." The two boys fist-bumped each other with the hands that weren't guiding Kirito's, with Suigetsu whispering "Good job, brother."

"Shall we then?" asked the pretty brunette; Kirito (controlled by Kiri) nodded slowly as he began a clumsy walk, slow and deliberate, while Ayame followed.

* * *

Surprisingly enough, the date went quite well and Ayame never suspected a thing…

…Well, she never expected a thing until two boys in black cloaks suddenly popped up from behind her date while eating dinner. They were screaming and all-around being insane, as they thrashed about as two snakes wrapped around their bodies, hissing and… almost talking… it was a strange language, though she almost was able to understand it.

"Kirito, what's going on here?!" she demanded, jumping up from her seat; she stared at Kirito intensely, waiting for an answer.

"MMPH! MMM!" Kirito said as he struggled in his chair. Ayame couldn't figure out what was up with him.

"Answer me Kirito!" she pleaded, practically leaping across the table to shake his collar… and then she noticed two things: one: Kirito's wrists were bound and two: he had tape over his mouth. She tilted her head strangely and tore the tape from his mouth; "Will you answer me now?!"

"First off… SON OF A BITCH!" the normally silent redhead yelled loudly. After a moment of heavy breathing, he asked somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, could you untie my hands first? It's getting extremely uncomfortable."

"Yeah, same here…" Ayame muttered, taking a knife from the table and cutting the rope around his wrists. He moved his hands animatedly for a minute, apparently happy to be able to move freely now. "Kirito, tell me what was going on."

"…"

"Might I remind you that I have a knife?"

"…You're seriously threatening a shinobi?"

"…Fair enough. Please though… tell me what those two were doing!"

"Well, uh… Suigetsu and Kiri kind of jumped me while I was reading. Taped my mouth shut and did something so that they could move my hands and legs, and they put on some crazy camouflage… and, well… then we got here." Kirito explained, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Then how were you talking…?"

"That was Kiri… rat bastard…" muttered the redhead.

"Does that mean you didn't… really ask me out?"

"…"

At Kirito's silence, Ayame jumped to conclusions—correct conclusions, yes, but nonetheless she was quick to assume. She walked out in a huff, muttering, "I should've known that wasn't really him… he ordered the unagi! I should've known…"

"…Well shit. I'm going to have to find myself another place that serves vegetarian food." Kirito said quietly, staring slightly impassively—though deep in his heart, VERY deep (so deep that he really didn't care) he did have a slight feeling of guilt—once again, so deep down that he pretty much couldn't care less, but nonetheless there.

At the sound of a person clearing their throat, Kirito turned around and saw an imposing man with a chef's hat, carrying a large tray of food. "Um… is this a bad time to ask who's going to pay for all this?"

Let me just say there was literally a SHITLOAD of food there. "Rat bastards…" muttered Kirito, knowing so well that the morons—his morons—had ordered all of this to cost him money.

"What was that?"

"Um… I meant to say… Ninja Smoke Bomb no Jutsu!" as he threw down a smoke pellet and disappeared before the smoke was gone.

* * *

Kiri and Suigetsu had managed to bring themselves back to the hotel room after throwing off the snakes that had been commanded to attack them after emerging from the sleeves of their captive. The two ran into the room breathing heavily, while their sensei, who was still on the couch watching that same movie, laughed and said, "Did he subject you to the snake treatment…?"

"…Yes."

"I warned you, didn't I? I tried to set him up with my niece a few years ago—I hired a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to try the same thing you guys did. Swarm of bugs and shit… completely ate him. S-ranked shinobi… killed by a genin. You're lucky he likes you two."

Needless to say, Kiri and Suigetsu were both a bit more scared of Kirito, though at the same time, they respected the redhead even more.

* * *

After the incident in the restaurant, instead of going back to the hotel room to deal with his morons, Kirito instead chose to go and get something to drink—he always did have a bit of a love for a nice bit of sake, especially when his teammates gave him a headache. After browsing through Konoha's main bar area, he finally settled on a slightly empty one with a hard rock tune coming from somewhere he couldn't place—probably seals.

The bar itself was nice enough, almost like a lounge area. The only other occupants were either sitting in a corner, drinking and laughing, or behind the bar itself. The bartender was a corpulent man with a cheery face and grey hair, wearing a white collared shirt, black pants and an apron. As the redhead took his seat at the bar, the man smiled and asked, "What can I get for you, son?"

"Sake, please," said Kirito quietly. As the bartender slid him a shotglass full of the rice-wine, he gave a brief, small smile and added, "Arigatou."

"So, you from Kiri?" asked the older man after Kirito downed the shot, filling up the glass again.

"Yeah. Chuunin Exams." Another shot down.

"What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Kirito."

"Any relation to Uzumaki Kushina?"

Now, let me emphasize this: Kirito was quite the lightweight when it came to alcohol, so he was already feeling decently buzzed at the time. "Yeah. My sister."

A wind blew into the bar as the door slid open. A girl walked in—a girl with blonde hair pulled into four spiky pigtails, with green eyes… Kirito knew he'd seen her before, but as she walked her way up to the bar with him, taking a seat in the barstool beside him, the boy couldn't help but blurt out, "Asuna?"

"Sorry?" replied the girl, glancing at him weirdly.

"…Sorry. Thought you were someone else." said the redhead drunkenly, downing another shot.

"What'll it be, sweetie?" asked the bartender politely.

"Same as him," said the girl with an exasperated sigh. She glanced over at the redhead one more time, then added, "Hey… you're that guy from yesterday. The one who threw the weasel at my brother."

"I didn't throw the weasel at him," said Kirito softly. Said creature, known as Seinaru, wormed its way out of Kirito's t-shirt and rested around his neck, staring intently at the girl. "She's actually a mongoose, anyway."

"Umm… right. My name is Temari, by the way. You said your name is Kirito?"

"Right. U~zu~maki Ki~ri~to~ at your service~" sing-songed Kirito, after downing two straight shots.

Temari giggled a little; it was a sound that struck at Kirito's heart for some reason. That coupled with the song that was playing from the speakers was making the redhead feel something different—a longing feeling… a feeling of lost love.

'_Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand__  
__Love letters in the sand, I remember you__  
__Through the sleepless nights and every endless day__  
__I'd want to hear you say, I remember you…'_

Quietly Kirito looked down at the wooden bar, as Temari said softly, "This song… bartender-san, can you turn it up please?"

"Certainly, Temari-san."

'_We've had our share of hard times__  
__But that's the price we paid__  
__And through it all we kept the promise that we made__  
__I swear you'll never be lonely__Woke up to the sound of pouring rain__  
__Washed away a dream of you__  
__But nothing else could ever take you away__  
__'Cause you'll always be my dream come true__  
__Oh my darling, I love you…'_ **(A/N: The name of the song is "I Remember You" by Skid Row)**

A single tear was brought to Kirito's eye, as his thoughts drifted to a distant memory: the image of a brown-haired girl with green eyes… the exact colour of the blonde sitting next to him. She was smiling at him and holding his hand, as she mouthed something along the lines of "I love you".

Kirito shook the thought from his mind, downing another drink…

…And Temari, for some strange reason, was feeling very similar. A memory of a redheaded boy with a bright smile and violet eyes; she had no idea where this was coming from, however.

The bartender was looking on with an amused smile; Kirito and Temari had been staring at each other for several minutes now—and were now actually rather close. Deciding to give himself a bit of a laugh, he spoke up. "Um, excuse me, Shinobi-san. If you're going to kiss, would you please get it over with? My customers are beginning to get a little disturbed."

"E-eh?!" Kirito and Temari both stuttered, blushing fiercely as they finally noticed their close proximity. The Uzumaki drew back into a curtain of red hair, while the eldest Sand Sibling hid her face with a small fan; meanwhile, the bartender just chuckled. Kirito's mind was still swimming with memories of this brown-haired girl, and the feeling he got when around her—though he could still get no name to come to mind. Slapping some ryo down onto the wooden bar, he said quietly, "That should pay for the entire bottle—and another, should the lady wish for more. Arigatou, bartender-san."

And with that, Kirito stood and walked out of the bar, his mongoose friend following at a rapid pace, with a snake slithering along behind. Temari shot a look to the bartender, and before she spoke, he replied, "Don't ask me, Temari-san. Completely your decision should you follow him or not. I can't say anything—except one time, I didn't follow someone. Biggest mistake I ever made…"

As he would have continued, Temari had stood up already and was taking a long stride toward the door, after Kirito. She had no idea what she should say—and perhaps that was for the best. She wasn't exactly great with people (of course, neither was Kirito).

"Kirito," she called out as she pushed through the door; but right as she did, she just caught a glimpse of the boy disappearing in a **Mizu Shunshin**. Temari sighed to herself; perhaps it was for the best—she hadn't the slightest idea of what to say, nor was she sure what had… even happened.

But she couldn't kick the feeling that she had found something… and then lost it once more.

* * *

**Well, there you have it everybody! Like I said previously, I'm sorry I don't have much else for you, but that's all I could crank out in my state of mind… at least, considering I wanted to give you guys **_**something**_** after a month (two months? I really don't remember) of waiting. Give me some feedback, yo! Just remember, no flames will be accepted, just constructive criticism and the like—something I will accept with open arms, just please, Kami, **_**no frickin' nitpicking!**_** It's incredibly annoying and honestly nitpicking is just totally unnecessary in the long run. **

**But here's what I'm planning on doing with this—Temari will **_**not**_** be a direct reincarnation of Asuna, but she will have some of her memories and skills. There **_**will**_** be a character who **_**is**_** a direct reincarnation of Asuna, but she will be introduced a bit later—plus she's probably gonna be a Path, just like Kirito-kun. Anyway, next chapter I really want to try and get to the first exam if I can, maybe have Kirito teach Naruto something. **

**Until next time (and I'm stealing this directly from my housemate Chase)… take care, brush yo' hair, I'll see ya when I see ya…**

**~Peace~**

**~~Mitch-kun**


End file.
